SAITAMA, Japan – Diego Sanchez needed to head to the other side of the world to get his first lightweight win since 2009 – and still, it was close.

Sanchez snapped Takanori Gomi’s three-fight win streak with a split-decision win, picking up a pair of 29-28 scores. It was Sanchez’s return to 155 pounds after a four-fight run at welterweight, and his first fight in more than a year.

The lightweight bout was part of the main card of Saturday’s UFC on FUEL TV 8 event at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. It aired on FUEL TV following a preliminary card on Facebook.

Gomi got started early, landing right hands when Sanchez tried to get inside. After a Sanchez low blow got Gomi a short pause, it was Sanchez quickly taking the fight to the ground. But Gomi was back up quickly as the crowd started chanting Gomi’s name. With 80 seconds left, Gomi landed a knee, but Sanchez used it for a takedown. On the ground, Sanchez went after a kneebar, but Gomi wriggled out and back to his feet, where he landed a body shot.

Gomi went after Sanchez’s body early in the second. Sanchez kicked high and had it blocked, but an inside leg kick from him appeared to land just a bit too close for comfort and Sanchez was given a final warning from referee Marc Goddard. Gomi kept the pressure on throughout the round, and although Sanchez was able to land a few kicks and punches, it was Gomi who landed them more frequently.

Sanchez sprinter to the center of the cage to open the third round, but he circled to the outside as Gomi looked to keep pressure on him. The takedowns for Sanchez didn’t come in the third, and that worked to Gomi’s advantage on the feet. Sanchez threw a flurry at the end of the fight, but Gomi didn’t go down.

The judges scored the bout 29-28 twice for Sanchez and 29-28 for Gomi. Gomi was going after his third straight win, all of which would’ve been on his home continent of Asia.

Sanchez (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) had a successful return to the lightweight division – save for missing weight and forfeiting 20 percent of his purse to Gomi. He won at 155 pounds for the first time in nearly four years. He now has won three of his past four. Gomi (34-9 MMA, 3-4 UFC) had a two-fight win streak snapped with the loss

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